Big 12’s talent shifts from air to ground

Dave Matter

Sunday

Jun 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMJun 27, 2010 at 6:33 AM

It’s a new offensive era in the Big 12 Conference as a handful of decorated stars have departed, including four quarterbacks who spent their careers collecting school records: Texas’ Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Kansas’ Todd Reesing and Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 is loaded with established running backs as 10 of the league’s 12 leading rushers from last season are back. That’s why the first edition of the Big 12 Summer Countdown is brimming with runners. With an assist from the website CFBstats.com, here are the Big 12’s best offensive skill players for 2010, the playmakers who are the conference’s best with the ball in their hands.

1. Jerrod Johnson, QB, Texas A&M: Were it not for a lousy defense that was unequivocally the Big 12’s worst last season, Johnson would have been considered one of the elite players in the country. Bottom line, he had the statistics to match the McCoys and Tebows but not the victories.

Johnson threw 30 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, completed 60 percent of his throws in conference play, posted six 300-yard passing games and rushed for at least 50 yards seven times for the 6-7 Aggies. Most impressive, in A&M’s games against Football Bowl Subdivision teams with winning records, Johnson threw a league-high 16 TDs to just four picks. In a 10-point loss to Texas, Johnson might have been the best player on the field when he passed for 342 yards and four touchdowns and sliced through the Longhorns for 97 rushing yards.

But that game encapsulated Johnson’s junior season: Brilliant statistics punctuated by a loss.

Surrounded by the league’s richest collection of offensive skill, Johnson should earn more recognition this fall — but national awards will only follow if the Aggies can challenge Oklahoma and Texas in the South Division. That point is not lost on the senior quarterback.

“I definitely feel that I can be more consistent, more level through the entire game and not be so up and down,” he recently told Fox Sports Southwest. “I think my completion percentage can go up, and I think I can step up to get others around me to play well, as well. I learned last year that a quarterback is judged by how many games his team wins, but I have really good teammates and good guys around me.”

2. Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor: Normally, this might be too high for a player coming back from a major knee injury, but as Griffin proved in 2008, this is no normal player.

Griffin electrified the league as a freshman, but his sophomore year lasted only three games as a torn knee ligament shattered Baylor’s season. With Griffin watching from the sideline, the Bears won just two of their final nine games.

A devastating runner and efficient passer as a freshman, Griffin plans to regain his unparalleled speed this fall. In fact, the NCAA champion hurdler expects to be faster.

“I feel like I will be,” he told SI.com. “I’ve put on some weight and continue to build my strength. The burst will definitely be there, and I feel fast right now and I can only imagine how I’ll feel in” September.

3. Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State: Speaking of injuries, Hunter was another Big 12 star robbed of his full power last season. The Big 12’s 2008 rushing leader sat out five games with a foot injury last fall, but he was back to his explosive ways in the Cotton Bowl, carving through Mississippi for 94 yards on just 10 carries.

When healthy — and Hunter is now fully recovered — he’s the most explosive back in the Big 12. He should thrive with the arrival of new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, a spread offense specialist who learned under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and coordinated the country’s No. 1 offense last season at Houston.

“I didn’t know how good he was,” Holgorsen told The Oklahoman this spring. “We had faced him twice” at Houston, “but I don’t watch the opposing teams’ offense. So I knew of him by reputation. Then you watch him in space, he can stop and start. He’s as good as I’ve seen.”

4. DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma: Why choose Hunter over the Sooners’ more celebrated runner? For one, Hunter has averaged almost a yard per carry more than Murray over their college careers, 6.0 to 5.1. Two, Murray has put together some outstanding games at OU, but he’s never been the team’s leading rusher over the course of a season. A dislocated kneecap and a hamstring tear have cost him five games in three years and taken away some of the burst he showed in 2007.

On the other hand, Murray is a more physical runner than Hunter, a more accomplished receiver and has scored 45 career touchdowns to Hunter’s 23. If he stays healthy and earns more carries, Murray could easily eclipse Hunter on this list by season’s end.

5. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma: There should be no debate when it comes to identifying the league’s best receiver. Among returning Big 12 players, Broyles had the most receptions last year (89), the most receiving yards (1,120) and the most touchdown catches (15). In an 8-5 season that fell short of Oklahoma’s usual standards, Broyles was the team’s most consistent offensive weapon. He ended the season on a high note, grabbing 13 passes for 156 yards and three TDs against Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

6. Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri: Outside of Missouri’s no-show Texas Bowl and an earlier three-game slide when the first-year starter limped on a sprained ankle, Gabbert put together a promising season for the Tigers. Only McCoy posted a better quarterback rating among Big 12 passers than Gabbert’s 140.5. And in four November games, Gabbert was at his best, throwing eight TDs and no interceptions.

But can he make the leap from being good to great? Can he play better against the schedule’s best competition? Ultimately, he’ll be measured by his production during a grueling stretch of games against Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas Tech.

7. Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas State: The Big 12’s reigning rushing champion was the K-State offense last fall, accounting for more than 31 percent of the team’s yards from scrimmage. The former junior college quarterback had five 100-yard rushing games and blasted through Big 12 defenses for 5.3 yards per carry.

8. Roy Helu, RB, Nebraska: The Huskers’ most experienced back had some quiet stretches last season. Just one of his 10 touchdowns came against a team with a winning record (Missouri.) When healthy, though, Helu can gash any defense. Just ask Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Helu roasted them for 169 and 138 yards, respectively. His numbers might take a dip this fall if Rex Burkhead’s role expands.

9. Baron Batch, RB, Texas Tech: Batch is the prototypical Red Raider who catches more passes than any running back in the league — 57 last year — but he’s also one of the most effective runners in the conference. He averaged 5.3 yards a carry last season — more than any other back on this list — and scored more touchdowns than any non-receiver in the Big 12.

10. Alexander Robinson, RB, Iowa State: The Rodney Dangerfield of the Big 12 should probably rank higher on this list, but Robinson’s production usually goes unnoticed across the league. Undersized at just 5-foot-9, 186 pounds, Robinson is the centerpiece of an offense that can be potent when he’s healthy.

11. Jeff Fuller, WR, Texas A&M: Either Fuller or teammate Uzoma Nwachukwu deserves a spot here. You might as well flip a coin to decide. In two fewer games last season Fuller had one more catch and one more touchdown, but Nwachukwu managed more yards. Either way, Johnson is lucky to have both in his arsenal.

12. Derrick Washington, RB, Missouri: Like most of the backs on this list, Washington played through an injury last season, a knee contusion that cost him the quickness he showed during his 1,000-yard season in 2008. Playing 10 pounds lighter this spring, Washington was MU’s best playmaker in March and April, looking more like the back who averaged 5.9 yards a carry as a sophomore.